For the first time in over six years, Northwestern beat Memphis, extending its win streak to seven in a decisive 4-2 victory.
The Wildcats (7-2, 0-0 Big Ten) have been virtually unstoppable as of late, securing four sweeps in their last seven matches.
Against the Tigers (5-2, 1-0 American) on Sunday, sophomore standout Carter Pate helped NU come out on top. Pate, alongside junior Greyson Casey, rallied late in their third-set tiebreaker to solidify the doubles point against the No. 83 doubles pairing in the nation. Pate and Casey are unbeaten together through six doubles outings this year.
When Pate took the court solo, the result was no different. Pate’s incredible comeback from down 5-1 in the third set was NU’s clinching match on the road to victory over Memphis. The win became Pate’s seventh singles win of the season in a red-hot year for the Charleston, S.C. native.
Not too far behind Pate in the win column is junior Ethan Schiffman, who impressed against the Tigers. With fellow junior Cyrus Mahjoob, the ’Cats No. 2 doubles pairing knocked off the No. 87 doubles team in the country in a wild third-set tiebreaker that saw the NU squad fight back to win seven of the last eight points of the match.
Schiffman followed up his doubles success with a 6-4, 6-2 win at the No. 4 singles spot, marking the sixth straight singles win for the Cal transfer.
Only a couple of days after being named the first Freshman of the Week for the ’Cats since Vincent Yang last year, Cooper Han has continued to shine. The freshman from Los Altos, Calif., navigated a challenging match to come out with a 6-4, 7-6 (10-8) win in straight sets.
Han has yet to register a loss in his dual matches this season and has certainly lived up to the expectations that came with his high school ranking as the country’s No. 28 recruit.
NU will look to add two more notches to its win column when the squad hosts Marquette and Illinois State in a doubleheader on Saturday.
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